Things are so bad that Church of England officials are preparing to scrap the diocese controlled by the bishop of Bradford. It could now be merged with Ripon and Leeds.[>

[> Canon Rod Anderson, of St Barnabas Church, in Heaton, Bradford, said: “There has been a large ethnic Asian influx which has had a noticeable impact on congregation sizes. The knock-on of this is a downturn in financial fortunes.”

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Attendance at Sunday services across Bradford’s 147 parishes has slumped from 13,500 in 2000 to 8,700 today.[>